APRIL FOOL: Application for sushi charter school to be approved

Ever since leading students on a field trip to Kyoto, Japan, and visiting the sushi restaurant Kaiten-Sushi Uogashi, guzzling down dish after dish that traveled by on the conveyor belt, Robert Ginger was hooked like a fresh-caught fish. 

The unforgettable experience led the doctor of education to begin designing Futomaki Elementary, a charter school whose curriculum is centered entirely on sushi-making.

Focused on “encouraging discipline and excellence through sushi-making” in grades K-5, the school would be based out of a luxury yacht docked at Marina Jack. 

Ginger noted that beyond teaching skills like preparing rice, slicing fish, massaging octopus tentacles and decorating a sushi roll using the highest quality imported ingredients, the curriculum would fulfill all state requirements in subjects like math and English.

Yet when Ginger offered his proposal at a March 26 school board meeting, he found the idea was not to the tastes of the public.

“How about spending our taxpayer dollars on some practical skills kids can use here in Sarasota, like tightrope walking and clowning?” said public commenter Kelly Reasoner. 

Ginger claimed the remarks at the meeting revealed numerous misconceptions about the educational benefits of sushi.

“Sushi not only tastes great, but it’s also incredibly useful,” he said. “It ties in with science because of where the ingredients come from, English because some Japanese terms are so difficult for English-speakers to spell, math because sushi chefs make a large number of rolls each day, and most importantly, structure and discipline, which define the life of an itamae, or master sushi chef.”

School board attorney Rick Diggin said recent legislation at the state level means the school's application will be approved since it meets all state requirements.

“The applicant has clearly demonstrated their ability to adhere to FDA safety standards in the handling and freezing of raw fish, and with that considered, it is not within the board’s purview to deny this proposal.”